Showing results by narrator "Bob Andelman" in All Categories

No one ever did undercover police work better or with more distinction than Joe Pistone, who you probably know better as "Donnie Brasco". Brasco became a household name in the 1980s as the undercover character played by Pistone, perhaps the ballsiest FBI agent ever. His six years undercover ultimately led to testimony that sent more than 200 mobsters to jail and - indirectly, several to their deaths. Pistone was famously portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 1997 movie, Donnie Brasco.

Is it fair to call Carl Wilson the "accidental" Beach Boy? He was the youngest brother - and cousin - in the world’s most enduring and prominent California surf band, the one that probably had other youthful pursuits in mind when older brother Brian recruited him to the band in the early 1960s at age 15. But the rest of The Beach Boys were lucky he got around - I mean, came around - as Carl eventually became the band’s musical director, lead vocalist, and its conscience in the absence of brother Brian.

Kurt Andersen has one of those careers that makes him the envy of a lot of folks in media. The guy has had a fairly golden touch, starting with the birth of the late great humor magazine, Spy, which he co-founded with Graydon Carter and Tom Phillips. He's also been a columnist for The New Yorker and editor in chief of New York. And he currently hosts public radio's popular Studio 360, which has won a Peabody Award.

Of course there are stereotypes in Hollywood! Look up "Scary Mofos" in any dictionary and you'll find a picture of actor Danny Trejo. Even when he's smiling, he's frightening. (No disrespect, sir.) Mention his name in casual conversation and watch the visceral fear come rising up in someone's eyes. As the master thespian Jon Lovitz once said, "Acting!" Yeah, maybe.

Raquel Welch promotes her new book, Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage, about beauty and health tips and along the way presents a virtual manifesto for the modern, mature woman. I think this story will appeal to two types of women: those of any age who want to be like Raquel, and those who think a woman as sexy and famous as Raquel Welch couldn't possibly relate to their lives. Because, from what I read in Beyond the Cleavage, I think she does.

An audiobook narrated by author Bob Andelman, Will Eisner: A Spirited Life is the authorized biography that explores Eisner's amazing life, detailing a career that spanned 70 years. The biography features interviews with many of Eisner's contemporaries, such as Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Neil Gaiman, Denis Kitchen, Jim Warren, Dave Sim, Denny O'Neil, and Stan Lee.

The story of Billy Hayes, an American tourist caught attempting to leave Turkey by plane in 1970 with bags of hashish taped to his stomach, for which he was subsequently jailed for five years - and, with only 42 days left to serve, resentenced to life in prison - was made into a major motion picture starring Brad Davis and written by Oliver Stone. But many key aspects of Midnight Express may have been invented by Stone.

Like a lot of bands from that era, The Cowsills soon disappeared from view - 1910 Fruitgum Company, anyone? - and I didn’t give them much thought, until last week, when I was invited to watch a new documentary film by Louise Palanker, Family Band: The Cowsills Story, about the real family behind the singing family. Joining me today to talk about his family, the band, and the documentary is Paul Cowsill. Paul still leads The Cowsills, but his day jobs are equally interesting.

Toni Tennille: A Memoir is an okay title for the Alabama native’s life story, but once you read it to the end, you might agree with me that "Toni Tennille: Happy at Last" is more fitting. I cannot deny that I had low expectations as I began reading the autobiography of this singer who I always adored as a teen and held on to over the decades as a guilty pop pleasure. The glamour, the celebrity friends, parties, etc. - ho-hum, we’ve certainly heard it all before. But trust me, you haven’t heard this story.

If you’re going to write a book about the Rolling Stones at this point in their history, you damn well better have something unique to say - which brings us to former Rolling Stone magazine associate editor in London, Robert Greenfield. I am happy to report that the author has added several new colors to what we know of the band. If you love the Stones, you’ll find this tale irresistible. Hear more about it in this interview.

There are two pictures on Tommy Roe’s website of him with The Beatles. I glanced at them the night before this interview and then moved on, looking for ideas about what to ask the man behind such immortal 1960s bubblegum hits as “Sheila", “Dizzy”, and “Jam Up and Jelly Tight". The Beatles knew Roe; they were one of the featured acts on his top-billed tour of the UK, and they recorded a cover of his number one hit from 1962, “Sheila". Tommy Roe’s had his first number one with “Sheila", of course, and subsequently charted a number of songs on the Top 10.

While most people who lived through the 1970s will remember Elliot Mintz for his Lennon-Ono connection, he was also quite an accomplished journalist, recording conversations with a who's who of the era, including Jack Nicholson, Allen Ginsberg, Mick Jagger, Salvador Dali, Dennis Hopper, Jayne Mansfield, and many, many more.

Nothing twinkles quite as bright as a classic Hollywood star and few were ever bigger in their day than Lana Turner. In her over-sized collection of family photos and personal anecdotes, Lana: The Memories, the Myths, the Movies, Turner’s daughter Cheryl Crane pulls back the curtain and offers a fascinating peek at a life well lived.

Actress Charlotte Stewart's autobiography delivers on both boldface names and remarkably personal details. A few names in her life’s story: Elvis Presley. Kevin Bacon. Kyle McLachlan. Neil Young. Joni Mitchell. Jimmy Stewart. David Lynch. During today’s conversation, Charlotte will also read a short passage from Little House in the Hollywood Hills, which she co-wrote with Andy Demsky. Her book will blow your mind. Promise.

If you've been watching the AMC drama Breaking Bad over the years, you've had the privilege of seeing some extraordinary performances by the lead actors, Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul and Anna Gunn. But some of the greatest moments have been of the smaller, more isolated type. Like the ones featuring my guest today, Mark Margolis, who plays - or should I say played - Hector "Tio" Salamanca. You remember Hector, the notorious, bloodthirsty bastard we met as an old man and later in flashbacks as a young badass.

Imagine stretching a rubber band between the index finger on one hand and the thumb on the other. Now visualize pulling your fingers as far apart as possible. That's it...keep pulling...and pulling...OUCH! Somebody will always get hurt when you do that. That's what I pictured happening upstairs to Margo Martindale's character, Janice Trimble, in her new movie, Scalene. And that's just in the opening minutes.

Let me see. The last time I stopped what I was doing to listen a world class violinist was… Okay, it hasn't happened yet. But after watching Philippe Quint move gracefully between classic violin and pop-jazz in David Grubin's new indie film Downtown Express, it is definitely more likely to happen in the future.

I was studying Samaire Armstrong's IMDB page when I saw that she played "Emily" on several episodes of the HBO comedy Entourage. Why is that significant? Well, as fans of the long-running podcast Sex With Emily will recognize, a clip from Entourage helps open every episode of that show.

It's easy to point out that George Kennedy, in a career spanning five decades, worked with some of the greatest names in Hollywood history. Paul Newman. Cary Grant. Kirk Douglas. Frank Sinatra. Leslie Nielsen. Bettie Davis. Clint Eastwood. John Wayne. Maggie Smith. Peter Ustinov. Carol Burnett. David Niven.

The ironic thing about Michelle Borth's role as Jamie, a woman whose fiancé won't commit to monogamy in the new HBO series "Tell Me You Love Me," is that she is the kind of sexy, intoxicating woman that could probably drive the best-intentioned married man to cheat on his wife.